William Tyndale
I compiled a little information about William Tyndale taken from a couple of websites on google. He captured my interest because of his immense dedication to spreading the truth of God's word, right up to his horrible death. I like reading about Christians like him because their stories dwarf my problems and remind me that the things I think I suffer are nothing in comparison.
In particular, the website, Friends of William Tyndale...History of the English Bible, was a really fun website. They write: For centuries Tyndale has been revered by scholars and church historians as "The father of the English Reformation," "The Apostle of England," and as the man who made the English Bible widely available. Yet, the remarkable account of his life and his extraordinary accomplishments are little known or appreciated. Through his unparalleled service to Christ and His church, Tyndale was used of God to profoundly influence the course of history.
William Tyndale was born about 1495 in a county in the South Western part of England and died in 1536. He studied in Oxford and Cambridge. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1521. Had he remained a Catholic priest he would not have attempted to translate the Bible without official sanction. The only version of the Scripture tolerated in England was St. Jerome's Latin translation which dated back to the 4rth century. (not the common language of his day.) Tyndale was determined to make God's word accessible to all men. It is said that during a dispute with a prominent clergyman, Tyndale replied "If God spare my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost."
He was convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. Tyndale's Old and New Testaments were the first English translation of the scriptures taken directly from the original Hebrew and Greek languages. He became the first man to translate anything from Hebrew into English. Tyndale carefully chose words which would clearly express the meaning of the original Biblical languages.
The commonly received doctrine of his time implied that men earn their salvation by good behavior and penance. He wrote that salvation is a gift of God. His views were not appreciated and, fleeing from King Henry VIII, he went to Germany where he met Martin Luther in 1525. Tyndale lived in exile, poverty and persecution. His books and tracts were smuggled into England wrapped in bales of wool or cloth, or sacks of flour by fellow "Loallards."
Eventually Tyndale was caught and arrested. Some of his "crimes" were that he maintained that faith alone justifies, forgiveness of sins and to embrace the mercy offered in the Gospel, is enough for salvation and he denied that there is any purgatory. He was imprisoned for a year. On Sept 6, 1536, he was strangled and burned at the stake. His last words were "Lord, open the King of England's eyes."
Suzanne
